Between the incongruity of holding intimate "listening parties" in places like the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, a web-first
release strategy that prevented leaks and alienated brick-and-mortar retailers, and reports of creative strife that seem both
manufactured and totally plausible
, it's worth remembering that Kanye West and Jay-Z's actually got together and made a record. Watch the Throne is a super-group collaboration,
but it better also be super.

It is, writes the Washington Post's
Chris Richards
. "It’s also a relief," he adds. "Those expecting a disastrous ego clash will have to wait for Congress to reconvene — or until Jay-Z and
West hit the road together this autumn. Here, the duo volley between the contemplative and the petulant...Rebellion is consistently tempered with
gluttony — the two dissonant spirits that make this country great."